Engagement of human factors consultants (FOI)

​​Request

A

Please provide the details of any contracts or agreements between Government of Jersey and human factors consulting firms or individual human factors consultants, including but not limited to:

• Names of consulting firms or individuals
• Dates of contracts/agreements
• Scope of work outlined in the contracts or agreements
• Total cost of each contract or agreement
  

B

Please advise of any reports, findings, or deliverables produced by human factors consultants engaged by the Government of Jersey, including:

• Dates of reports or findings
• Titles or descriptions of reports or findings
• Any recommendations or conclusions made in the reports or findings

C

Please provide copies of any correspondence or communications related to the engagement of human factors consultants, or other documents discussing the selection, evaluation, or performance of human factors consultants.

Response

A

Providers identified by Health and Community Services, including the year(s) in which they were engaged, are detailed in the table below. No other Government of Jersey Departments reported using human factors consultants or consulting firms:

The scope of work provided includes delivery of educational sessions, delivery of sessions on civility and behaviour matters, Human Resources (HR) support and mediation. Owing to the confidential and sensitive nature of some of the engagements in employment matters, it is not possible to detail the scope of work provided by each firm / individual further than this.

Costs for services provided will depend on length of assignment and complexity, with most charged on a fixed day rate. 

The value of individual engagements or contracts is commercially sensitive, and as such, HCS considers that disclosure of such detail would likely prejudice the commercial interests of the department, or others. Therefore, Article 33(b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

​The total recorded spend on the listed engagements is £144,181.29. This may not include all engagements for 2024 where the works or invoicing is incomplete.

B

Some of the reports produced have formed the basis for, or helped develop, HR processes. 

Owing to the confidential and sensitive nature of some of the engagements in employment matters, reports in respect of any HR support provision may contain both confidential and personal detail. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the personal information of individuals, and Article 26 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied for information supplied in confidence.

C

Most services are contracted via the normal procurement arrangements, as per Government of Jersey policy.

Identifying the information to respond to Questions A and B has utilised the full time allocation allowed for Freedom of Information responses. As such, performing searches for all, or any, correspondence or communications relating to these engagements would exceed the timescales prescribed in the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Articles applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations. 

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

Article 26 - Information supplied in confidence

Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it was obtained by the scheduled public authority from another person (including another public authority); and

(b) the disclosure of the information to the public by the scheduled public authority holding it would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest Test

Article 33 is a qualified exemption and as such, HCS has conducted a prejudice test as required by law. 

When responding to requests of this nature, HCS has to balance the public interest with the impact that disclosing this information would, or would be likely to, have upon the organisation and / or third parties. Whilst it may be in the public interest to understand the costs of contracting services, protecting the commercial interests of HCS is an essential component in controlling public finances, which in itself is in the public interest.

It has been concluded that disclosing details of the contractual service arrangements is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of HCS and / or the provider. When considering the application of this exemption, HCS has determined that whilst it is in the public interest to disclose information, this is outweighed by the necessity to limit any impact on the commercial interests of HCS and third parties in future contract negotiations, and as such, Article 33 has been applied.​